Credit: The Associated Press

Montreal Canadiens' Lars Eller receives medical attention following a hit by Ottawa Senators' Eric Gryba during the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series in Montreal on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

MONTREAL — Ottawa Senators defenseman Eric Gryba was suspended for two games by the NHL on Friday for his crushing hit to head on Montreal Canadiens center Lars Eller in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Gryba caught Eller with his head down at the Montreal blue line Thursday night in the second period of the Senators' 4-2 victory. Eller crashed face-first to the ice, and was bleeding heavily as he was taken from the Bell Centre ice on a stretcher. He sustained a concussion and facial and dental injuries.